


Lumos

by Anonymous



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Gen, Good Draco Malfoy, Good Regulus Black, LGBTQ Characters, Slytherin Harry Potter, author violently rejects heterosexual relationships, harry has a friendly rivalry with draco, not beta read we die like fred, seamus finnegan bashing, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:16:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24075817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: "Hmm," a small voice, the Sorting Hat, said. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, of course, must have taken that on from your parents, and not a bad mind, either. There's talent, and a thirst to prove yourself. Now, where should we put you?"Harry gripped the edges of the stool, awaiting an answer."SLYTHERIN!"[in which sirius refuses to give up his godson to hagrid. when he is carted off to azkaban, regulus gains custody of harry. they try to keep away from the spotlight, but when it's time for harry to attend hogwarts, things change. not used to the constant attention from strangers, harry's first year is very strange. he forms a friendship with theodore nott and hermione granger, and maybe even draco malfoy.]- on hiatus until further notice -
Relationships: Hermione Granger & Harry Potter, Theodore Nott & Harry Potter
Comments: 42
Kudos: 171
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

The house was destroyed.

Sirius Black felt disorientation wash over him as he walked numbly towards the doorless frame.

The beloved house of Lily and James Potter was in ruins. The place where so many memories had been made; Sirius's home away from home. It was all gone, reduced to ashes and rubble.

He stepped inside, looking around gingerly. The furniture was all over the place, and the windows had all been shattered. He made his way towards the stairs, when—

_James._

He was lying in front of the stairs, lifeless, glasses crooked on his nose and wand clutched in his hand. Sirius collapsed next to him as he felt tears stream down his face. With a shaky hand, he reached out and took James's glasses off. He closed his eyes for him, then gently pocketed the frames.

The tears blinded his visions, and he tried to wipe them away. His insides felt twisted and broken, and it took a while for him to get back on his feet.

"I love you, James. Thanks for always being there."

The upstairs wasn't any better. Windows were shattered, doors were ripped from their frame, and some of the walls had crumbled.

He looked inside Lily and James's bedroom, but it was empty. With a feeling of dread overtaking him, he made his way to the nursery. Harry's room.

Sirius's eyes widened at the sight. Lily was dead. But Harry was alive.

He almost sprinted towards the crib, where he scooped Harry up in his arms for a closer inspection.

Harry looked fine. He had been crying, but he looked fine otherwise, except for a lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

"Pafoot?"

Sirius let out a choked sob. "Yes, it's me, Harry. It's me, don't cry."

"Mama," Harry pointed at Lily with a sad look on his face.

Sirius clutched Harry tightly with one arm. He bent down and grasped Lily's hand with his remaining hand.

"Lily," Sirius said. "I don't know if you can hear me or not. But I want you to know that I'm going to take good care of Harry. Alright? I'm going to love and care for him." He sniffled, then let out a small laugh. "I'll spoil him rotten. Teach him to terrorize Hogwarts with pranks." He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "Hopefully, you can watch over us. See what a great wizard he'll become. Harry will be fine. So you don't have to worry. You can rest peacefully."

Letting out a sob, he stood up, and almost left the room when he turned back around. He grabbed a blanket from the crib, wrapped Harry in it, then gave him Lulu, his stuffed animal. He then made his way downstairs and out of the house, with one last parting glance at James.

Sirius buckled Harry down on his motorbike, then got on himself. He revved up the engine, ready to go, when he heard his name being called.

"Sirius!" it was Hagrid. "Sirius!"

"Hello, Hagrid," Sirius replied.

"Oh," the half giant let out a small gasp as he saw Harry. "Dumbledore was right, Harry is still alive."

"Yes, and I really have to be on my way, Hagrid. I have something to deal with, right after I get Harry settled down."

"Just a minute here," Hagrid said. "Yeh can't."

"What?"

"Dumbledore. That's why I'm here. I was told ter take Harry ter him."

A shadow appeared over Sirius's face. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Hagrid. But I'm his godfather, and I promised Lily and James that I would take care of him.

"Sirius, if Dumbledore says ter bring Harry ter him, then it must be fer a reason. Yeh don't have ter worry, I'll be careful with him."

"No," Sirius said firmly. "I'm his legal guardian, I'm not giving Harry up. Have a good rest of the night, Hagrid."

And with that, the bike leapt into the air and roared through the sky.

The trip to Grimmauld place was long and took several hours, even with the magic bike. The night air was cold, and when Harry started shivering, Sirius picked him up and held him close to his chest.

When they finally arrived at Grimmauld place, Sirius hastily put his bike away before entering the house with Harry in his arm.

"Sirius? You okay?"

"I guess," Sirius said, and walked into the lounge.

He plopped down on an armchair across from his brother, Regulus. He had a book open on his lap.

"Is — is that Harry?"

"Yeah."

Regulus sucked in a deep breath. "And James and Lily?"

"Dead," Sirius replied emotionlessly.

"I'm sorry," Regulus empathized. After a while, "Can I hold him?"

"No."

Regulus sighed.

Regulus had, a few months prior, resigned from being a Death Eater. And by resigned, it meant that he ran away and hid from Voldemort. He and Sirius were both holed up in their childhood home, and had been trying to make amends. However, it wasn't easy. The pair had never been close, even from childhood, and had grown even further apart during adolescence. Neither of them had fully gained the other's trust.

"Do you think it's true?" Regulus asked.

"What's true?"

"That the Dark Lord is dead?"

Sirius looked up sharply. "I thought I told you not to call him that."

"Right," Regulus said. "I meant Voldemort. Is he dead?"

Sirius exhaled loudly and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I don't know," he said after a while. "It sounds plausible. We don't know much. What we do know is that Voldemort wanted to, and tried to — to kill Harry. And he failed. There was no sign of his body. Maybe he fled. But he could easily be dead. We won't know until later, I suppose."

"How did Voldemort know where he was?"

Sirius looked at his brother grimly.

All of a sudden, Harry let out a shriek and started crying. Regulus watched as Sirius shushed and soothed Harry to the best of his abilities. When Harry finally calmed down enough, Sirius shoved Harry into Regulus's arms.

"Wha — what are you doing? I thought you didn't want me to hold him."

"I have something to take care of."

"What?" Regulus chased after Sirius. "You're not going to do anything dangerous, are you?"

"I'm going to make Peter Pettigrew pay for betraying Lily and James," Sirius growled.

"Wait," Regulus grabbed Sirius's arm. "You just got Harry. If he hurts you, or you get locked up for hurting him, what's going to happen to Harry then?"

"Harry'll be fine," Sirius said. "He'll be with you. And I'll be back soon."

Sirius was not back soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you like it?


	2. Chapter 2

"You ready, Harry?"

Harry Potter, officially age eleven, wrenched open the door to his bedroom and practically skipped down the stairs. "Yep!"

"Well, hurry up then," Regulus smiled at him from the front of the fireplace, "we don't have all day."

It was July 31st, Harry's birthday, and the summer before his first year at Hogwarts. Regulus and Harry were flooing to Diagon Alley to pick up his school supplies.

The floo ride was nauseating. Stumbling out of the fireplace and into the leaky cauldron, Harry waited for Regulus to floo in after him. 

"Whew," Regulus said as he brushed some of the floo powder off of his robes. "It's been a while since I've done that. Come on, Harry, let's go get your stuff."

Diagon Alley was just as grand as Harry last remembered it. Each visit was exciting, but this particular one the most. He had never been to Diagon Alley during the summer, and it was the most crowded he had ever seen it.

"Do you have your list?"

"Yeah," Harry fished the letter out of his pocket and handed it to his uncle. "Where are we going first?"

"Why don't we try Madam Malkin's first?" Regulus suggested. "I'll pick up your books while you're getting fitted."

 _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_ was a spacious store with clothing racks filling up the entire place. Robes of every colour were hanging from the racks, and Harry didn't know where to start looking.

"Hogwarts, dear?"

Harry nodded. The woman speaking to him was a squat, smiling witch dressed in all mauve. Harry assumed that she was Madam Malkin.

"Come on, then. The fitting is back there."

Harry trailed along after her, and got on a stool. Next to him was a pale, blond haired boy with a pointed face.

"Hullo," the boy said. "Hogwarts too?"

"Yes," Harry replied.

"Great," the boy held out his hand with a grandiose air. "I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

The name was familiar, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Harry Potter."

"Really?" Draco said excitedly. "Are you really Harry Potter?"

"Yeah," Harry shrunk back uneasily.

Draco stared at him interestedly, before straightening up. "So what house will you be in?"

"Dunno," Harry shrugged. "Don't really know until we get there, do we?"

"Well, no, but I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going. My entire family's been in Slytherin, you see. I just hope I'm not in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

Oh. Of course. The _Malfoys_. Pureblood extremists and Regulus's distant relatives. Harry scrunched up his eyebrows in displeasure.

"My parents were in Gryffindor," He said coldly.

"Oh," Draco flushed a bit. "Good— good for them, I suppose. So you'll probably be in Gryffindor too."

Harry shrugged again. Draco went to open his mouth again, but Madam Malkin interrupted him.

"That's you done, my dear," she said.

After paying for his robes, Harry wandered out into the streets. He spotted Regulus, just a few feet away, leaning against a display window, and chatting with a very tall and very giant man. He slipped his hand into his uncle's.

"Where are we going next?"

They visited the apothecary for some potions ingredients. Harry crinkled his nose at the smell, but he soon got over it. The apothecary was just too interesting. From the next store over, he got a telescope, brass scales, a cauldron, and some crystal phials. During this short period, Harry got noticed three times.

"Just your wand left," Regulus enthused. "The best part of shopping."

With a bounce in each step, Harry stepped foot in the dusty old shop, Ollivanders. It was a small shop, stacked to the ceiling with narrow, rectangular boxes. It was dark and eery, and Harry stood closer to Regulus.

"Good afternoon," came a soft voice. Harry jumped slightly.

"Hi," Harry replied nervously. He got a better look at Ollivander as he soon came into light.

"Ah, yes, yes," he murmured. "I though I would be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." Harry twitched uncomfortably. "It seems only yesterday your mother was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work... Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration."

Ollivander's silvery eyes stared directly into Harry's. Then, a long, thin finger traced Harry's scar. Harry stepped back. Thankfully, Ollivander turned his attention to Regulus.

"Regulus Black!" he exclaimed. "How nice to see you again. Cypress, twelve inches, and quite whippy, wasn't it?"

"Uh, yes, it was, sir," Regulus pulled out his wand to show to Ollivander.

"In good condition," Ollivander nodded in approval. "Looks almost new. Now, let us find a wand for Mr. Potter here."

Ollivander pulled out a tape measure, and it set out measuring all parts of Harry while Ollivander went digging through the stack of boxes.

"Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."

Harry grasped it tightly and waved it around, but nothing happened. "Why isn't it working?"

"Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance," Ollivander handed Harry another wand and instructed him to wave it again. "We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, the wand chooses the wizard. That wand did not choose you. Ah, and this one did not either."

Harry spent long over thirty minutes trying wand after wand. As the pile of discarded wands grew bigger and bigger, Harry began to lose hope. Ollivander, however, seemed to get happier.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we’ll find the perfect match here somewhere— I wonder, now, yes, why not. This is an unusual combination— holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

As soon as Harry held the wand up, he felt a warm, tingly feeling begin to spread from his fingers to his entire body. He waved it, as he had done plenty of times before, but this time, he got different results. Green and silver sparks shot out from the end, and he grinned in satisfaction as Regulus clapped for him.

Ollivander put the wand back into the box and wrapped it in brown paper. All throughout it, he muttered under his breath, "Curious. How very curious. Curious indeed."

"Sorry," Harry said. "But what's curious?"

Ollivander handed the wrapped box to Harry then stared at him sharply.

"I remember every wand I’ve ever sold, Mr Potter. And it just so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother— why, its brother gave you that scar."

Harry swallowed hard and Regulus placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You mean— you mean Voldemort has the same wand as me?" Harry asked.

"No, no," Ollivander shook his head. "I thought I made it clear; no two Ollivanders wands are the same. But your wands share the same core. Sibling wands, some may call it."

Harry shivered as Regulus paid for the wand. Regulus steered a shocked Harry to a nearby ice cream place that they both enjoyed; Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

As Harry silently ate his strawberry ice cream, Regulus stared at him with worry.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Not particularly," Harry said.

Regulus gave him a disbelieving glance.

"Um, okay, I do want to ask you something."

"Ask away!"

"Well, it's just that I'm so much more famous than I thought I was. I got noticed thrice! And people know all about me. But I don't know much about my parents. Is that weird? That I don't know more about my parents than everyone else?"

Regulus sighed.

"You know I've told you all that I know about them during the war. But I'll try to dig up some memories of them from Hogwarts, if that's alright with you."

"That's fine," Harry nodded, leaning closer to Regulus.

It turned out that Regulus did not know a lot more than the general public. He was never close to Sirius before he was locked up in Azkaban, and was not told any extensive details. But by the time he had finished his ice cream, Harry felt closer to his parents than ever before.

Harry felt himself swell up in pride to have such brave parents, but a small, stupid and selfish part of his brain was upset. He was upset that his parents had risked everything, including him, for the war. Because of it, they were dead, and Harry was parentless. Harry tried to push the thoughts out of his head.

"I'm sorry I don't have much, Harry. But I'll tell you what, I'll invite Remus over for the holidays again, and you can ask him about your parents then."

"That sounds great," Harry said. "Thanks, Uncle Regulus."

The rest of his birthday was considerably better. Once they arrived at home, Harry was met with birthday presents. The pile was quite large, considering his small social circle. He got a muggle novel trilogy from Andromeda and Ted, a large bag of Zonko's products and chocolate frogs from Tonks, apologizing for her parents' lame gifts, some of Honeyduke's best chocolates and a tin of sugared rhododendrons from Remus, Monopoly from Indie, his muggle best friend, an old pillow from Kreacher, and a pet owl from Regulus.

Harry spent the rest of the day reading through his course textbooks. Harry named his owl Hedwig, after someone he had plucked out his history of magic textbook.

By bedtime, Harry had accomplished quite a lot of things. He had, firstly, eaten all of his new sweets. He also played two rounds of Monopoly with Regulus, sent a thank you letter to the Tonkses and Remus with Hedwig, and skimmed through some of his new textbooks.

"Thanks for the great birthday, Uncle Regulus," Harry said from his bed. "I think it was the best one I've ever had!"

Regulus patted Harry's head. "You deserved it. Lights on or off?"

"Off, please."

"Right. Sleep tight, Harry."

"You, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter we get some hogwarts action, as well as hermione, neville, draco, and ron! it's still in the process of editing, so it should be up by tomorrow. stay tuned!


	3. Chapter 3

Harry shivered with excitement as he closed the metal clasps on his trunk. It was September 1st, and he was about to set off to King's Cross station. He looked up to see Regulus leaning against his doorframe.

"Excited?"

"Beyond," Harry replied, picking his trunk up with difficulty.

"You sure you don't want to bring Lulu with you?" Regulus nodded at the stuffed animal sitting on Harry's bed.

"No! Nobody brings their stuffed animal with them to Hogwarts!"

Regulus chuckled. "Alright, then. But if you want her, owl me, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah."

The doorbell rang.

"That should be Indie," Regulus informed him. "Here, I'll carry your trunk, you can go open the door for her."

Harry scampered down the stairs and jumped down from the fourth to last step.

"Hi, Harry!" his friend gripped him in a tight hug as soon as he opened the door.

Indie Young lived at 11 Grimmauld Place. She was a very extroverted and excitable person; often too excited. She bounced around everywhere. Kreacher grumbled about her knocking heirlooms over whenever she was invited over, but Harry knew he was secretly fond of her as well.

She and Harry had been friends since they were five, when Indie moved in next door. To Harry and Regulus's shock, she had marched up to the house, and knocked on the door three times. Harry and Regulus heard her screeches as she came face to face with Kreacher. Regulus had hastily wiped her mind, then welcomed her in. That was the beginning of Harry's first and only friendship. To this day, they had no idea how she had found the house as a muggle.

"I can't believe you're being shipped off to some boarding school all the way in Scotland," she pouted.

"I'm not being _shipped off_ ," Harry reminded her. "I want to go."

Indie sighed and flopped onto the carpet dramatically. "Can't believe you're leaving me here, all alone in Grimmauld place with my stupid mother."

"Sorry," Harry said, hauling her up and leading her to the lounge. "But I'll be back for the holidays."

"You'd better," Indie threatened. "Or I'm dragging you back down here."

They grinned at each other.

"I can write to you, right?"

"Of course you can, Indie," Regulus set down a plate of cookies. "You can give your letters to me and I'll mail it to Harry."

"Thanks, Mr. Black," Indie took a big bite of the cookie. "Wow, that's good! Just like always. You're so lucky Harry, my mother would never let me eat stuff like this."

"You know that you can still come over after Harry leaves, right?" Regulus told her. "I'll bake you cookies whenever you want."

Indie's face brightened at this, and she launched herself onto Regulus's body.

"Thanks, Mr. Black!"

After a heartfelt goodbye with Indie and promises to write every week, Regulus and Harry were ready to go. Gripping Regulus's arm tightly with one arm and carrying Hedwig's cage with the other, Harry prepared himself for the unpleasant feeling that was apparation.

His knees buckled when they arrived at King's Cross station, and Harry made a face. Even after years of that, he could never get used to it.

"D'you remember what the platform number is?"

"Nine and three quarters!" Harry replied excitedly. "Oh, look, it's right there, isn't it?" He pointed to the barrier between platform nine and platform ten.

"Correct. You ready?"

Harry took in a deep breath and nodded. "Together?"

"Together."

Harry and Regulus ran towards the barrier, and for a second Harry was afraid that they would crash. But that fear passed, and Harry was soon looking around a bustling platform.

Platform nine and three quarters was even more crowded than the muggle King's Cross stations. Kids of all ages as well as parents were moving about, saying their goodbyes and boarding the train. Regulus set down Harry's trunk and pulled the boy into a bear hug.

"You'd better get going before the train leaves without you," Regulus said. "I love you, Harry."

"I love you too, Uncle Regulus."

Harry gripped the handle of his trunk and smiled in an excited yet sad way. Regulus tousled his hair, and Harry boarded the train.

"Bye!" he called out. "I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you too."

With a jolt, Hogwarts Express sprang to life. Harry waved through the window, and soon, Regulus became a small speck. Lugging his trunk behind him, Harry set off to find an empty compartment.

Near the back of the train, Harry found an almost empty compartment.

"Er, hi, do you mind if I sit here?" he asked the bushy-haired girl sitting alone.

"Of course," she replied, giving him a smile. "Hi, I'm Hermione Granger."

"Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" Hermione asked. "You're famous!"

"Uh, yeah, I guess I am."

"I read all about you in this book right here." Hermione showed him a thick book titled _Wizarding History of the Late 20th Century_.

"That's cool," Harry said awkwardly. "So you read a lot, then?"

"Oh, yes," she gushed. "The wizarding world is just so interesting. I'm muggle-born, so I've obviously never known about any of this before I got my Hogwarts letter, but I've been soaking up everything I can. I have a lot to catch up on, don't you think? Do you know a lot of magic? I heard you live with your godfather."

"Uncle Regulus isn't actually my godfather," Harry scratched his head. "Or my actual uncle. But he's close. And don't worry, most kids from wizarding families don't know much magic, either. I only know one spell."

"That's a relief to hear. I don't want to be too behind. It's bad enough that I don't know all of wizarding history. I'm working on it, though."

Harry was about to tell her that he, too, did not know all of wizarding history, but he was interrupted as the door slid open again.

"Hi," a chubby boy stood outside, clutching a toad in one hand and his trunk in the other. "Is that seat taken?"

"Nope," Harry told him. "What's your name?"

"Neville Longbottom. You?"

"Harry Potter."

Neville's eyes widened, "Blimey! Harry Potter!"

"I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione interrupted as she saw the discomfort on Harry's face. "Are you excited for Hogwarts?"

Harry smiled gratefully at her.

"Of course I am," Neville exclaimed. "Who isn't?"

Harry chuckled. "What class are you most excited for?"

They spent a solid ten minutes talking before they were interrupted by Neville's toad. It jumped out of Neville's lap and launched itself out of their compartment. Harry watched in amusement as Neville chased after it while Hermione chattered on about transfiguration.

Harry soon found out that he was not very helpful. It seemed as though Hermione knew more about magic than he himself did.

One thing Harry did know about the wizarding world that Hermione didn't, however, was food.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" a smiling, dimpled woman stuck her head into their compartment.

Harry got up hurriedly and retrieved his small sack of money he had gotten from Regulus.

"Some chocolate frogs, please, and some cauldron cakes and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans."

Harry had great fun introducing Hermione to the sweets.

"I really shouldn't," Hermione said. "My parents are dentists, and they wouldn't want me eating these."

"Dentists?"

"They fix teeth. They're like teeth doctors, basically."

Harry nodded, "Well, one chocolate frog wouldn't hurt, would it? Besides, I think you'll find the card pretty cool."

Hermione frowned at that, but she unwrapped it anyway. Her eyes widened as she saw the squirming frog.

"Are you sure I can eat this? Seems quite alive, isn't it?"

"Don't worry, it's just a charm. Look at the card."

Hermione pulled out the card and stared at it in interest, watching the figure move.

"I heard that photographs move in the wizarding world. That's so cool!"

Harry grinned at her and unwrapped his own chocolate frog. The card was Dumbledore.

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE  
CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon’s blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

__Harry unwrapped all of the chocolate frogs and gave the cards to Hermione, who had developed a fascination to the moving pictures. Harry ate the chocolate himself.They then tried the cauldron cakes, and Neville even joined them to taste the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans._ _

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___The three of them were laughing at a joke Harry made when three boys entered. Harry recognized the blond one in the middle as Draco Malfoy._ _ _

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__"Harry Potter," he drawled. "We meet again. This is Crabbe and Goyle."_ _

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__He then looked around the compartment, narrowing his eyes at Hermione and Neville._ _

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__"Hi," Hermione spoke up. "Hermione Granger. And this is Neville Longbottom."_ _

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__"Longbottom?" Draco said. "I know that name. But Granger is a new one. What are you, a half-blood?"_ _

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__"Muggleborn, actually," Hermione said nervously yet proudly, noticing the look of disdain Draco was giving her._ _

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__He snorted and turned back to Harry. "You’ll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Harry. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."_ _

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__Harry stared at him for a while. He finally remembered where he had remembered Malfoy's name from. He was on the Black family tree, and Regulus had warned Harry of them. They were purebloods who though muggles and muggleborns were beneath them._ _

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__“I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks,” he said coolly._ _

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__Draco's pale cheeks went slightly pink. Throwing him and Hermione a glare, he led Crabbe and Goyle out and slammed the door behind him._ _

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__Hermione looked a bit shaken up, but she got up and steadied herself._ _

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__"We'd better hurry up and put our robes on. We must be nearly there."_ _

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__Hermione went to the bathroom to change while Neville and Harry stayed in the compartment._ _

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__A soft voice echoed through the train, “We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes’ time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately.”_ _

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__Harry tugged on his new robes nervously as the train slowed right down and finally stopped. He and Neville pushed their way out towards a tiny, dark platform. He looked around for Hermione, and tapped on her shoulder when he found her. Then, a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry a colossal man standing over them._ _

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__"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! C'mon, follow me. Mind yer step, now. Firs' years here!"_ _

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__Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so incredibly dark and cold. Nobody spoke much, although Neville sniffed once or twice._ _

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__“Yeh’ll get yer firs’ sight o’ Hogwarts in a sec,” Hagrid called over his shoulder, “jus’ round this bend here.”_ _

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__There were oohs and aahs as the group of first years suddenly ended up on the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side with its windows sparkling in the starry sky, there was a vast castle with many turrets and towers._ _

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__“No more’n four to a boat!” Hagrid called, pointing to little boats sitting in the water by the shore._ _

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__Harry, Hermione, and Neville got on, and a redheaded boy joined them, introducing himself as Ron Weasley. They had just shook hands when Hagrid spoke up again._ _

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__“Everyone in?” he shouted. “Right then — forward!”_ _

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__The boats lurched forward, then glided across the water smoothly. Everyone stared at the castle in awe as it became bigger and bigger and bigger._ _

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__

__

__"How beautiful," Hermione sighed._ _

__

__

__

__Harry had to agree. The great castle overhead, although large and made of stone, looked very warm and inviting. His stomach flipped inside out as it finally sunk in._ _

__

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__He was at Hogwarts._ _

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__


	4. Chapter 4

The inside of Hogwarts was even grander than the outside. Harry didn't know where to look. The entrance hall that they were standing in was huge, and he could barely make out the ceiling, for it was too high.

A tall, emerald-robed professor stood in front of the group, peering at them with a stern eye. She then introduced herself as Professor McGonagall.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony, because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts.

"The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its noble history and has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

Professor McGonagall left the chamber, after telling everyone to smarten themselves up.

Hermione leaned towards Harry and whispered, "Do you know what the sorting ceremony works? I haven't read anything about it yet."

"A bit, yeah," Harry whispered back. "Uncle Regulus said something about a talking hat? You have to put it on and it'll tell you which house you'll be in."

Hermione still looked worried.

"We only have to put on a hat?" Ron exclaimed. "My brother was going on about wrestling a troll!"

Harry snickered.

"Of course we wouldn't be wrestling a troll," Hermione told him in a matter-of-fact voice. "We're sorted based on our personalities, not based on our troll wrestling skills!"

Harry heard Ron mutter a snarky remark under his breath, but he drew his attention away towards a large group of ghosts that had suddenly appeared. They where pearly white and semi-transparent, gliding across the room. They seemed to be arguing over something called Peeves.

By then, the rest of the first years had noticed, and were pointing and whispering.

"New students," a ghost smiled at them. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know."

The first years just stared with curiosity and fear.

"Move along now," a sharp voice said.

Professor McGonagall had returned, and watched sternly as the ghosts disappeared through a wall.

"Get into a single file line, and follow me."

Despite his Uncle Regulus's descriptions of the Great Hall, Harry could never have imagined such a splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles, and they were floating in midair. Professor McGonagall led them down the length of the tables and stopped in front, where the teachers were sitting. To escape the stares of the older students, Harry looked up and saw the black, starry sky instead of a ceiling. He couldn't believe that Regulus would have left out such a major detail.

Hermione caught him looking. "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read it in _Hogwarts, A History_."

Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years and placed an old, raggedy wizard's hat on top.

Everyone stared at it, and Harry jumped back a little as it opened its mouth and started singing animatedly. It sang a rhyming song about the four houses, and the entire hall clapped once it had finished. Harry had to admit, the hat had a pretty talented voice.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward, and held a piece of parchment in front of her. She told them, "When I call your name, put on the Sorting Hat and sit down to be sorted. Abbott, Hannah?"

A short girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line and put on the hat.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat bellowed.

The table on the right cheered, and Harry saw the ghost from earlier waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" said the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to take a seat next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Harry jittered nervously.

"What house will you be in, you think?" Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron.

"My entire family's in Gryffindor," Ron told them. "I don't know what I'd do if I don't get in. Although I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad."

"I think Ravenclaw is an excellent house," Hermione said. "I would like to be in it, as well. Or maybe Gryffindor. What about you, Harry?"

"My parents were in Gryffindor," Harry shrugged. "But who knows. My Uncle Regulus was a Slytherin, and I grew up with him. Maybe he rubbed off on me?"

He noticed Ron make a face at the mention of Slytherin, and he tried his best to ignore it.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione took in a deep breath, and Harry patted her on the back supportively.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry clapped excitedly for her, but Ron just groaned.

The Sorting Hat took an unusually long time to sort Neville Longbottom. He was finally sorted into Gryffindor, and everyone laughed as he ran off with the hat still on his head. He had to double back to give it to Morag McDougal.

When Draco Malfoy's name was called, he swaggered forward confidently. In less than a second, the hat called out, "SLYTHERIN!"

He didn't look even remotely surprised, and went to join his friends at the table.

The rest of the names went by quickly, and finally, it was Harry's turn.

Whispers broke out around the Great Hall as Harry made his way to the stool.

"Potter, did she say?"

" _The_ , Harry Potter?"

"He'd better be in Gryffindor!"

"He defeated You-Know-Who at one! He's bound to be smart. Ravenclaw, maybe?"

He dropped the hat over his eyes and inhaled nervously.

"Hmm," a small voice said. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, of course, must have taken that on from your parents, and not a bad mind, either. There's talent, and a thirst to prove yourself. Now, where should we put you?"

Harry gripped the edges of the stool, awaiting an answer.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Whispers, even louder than before, surrounded him as he shakily made his way to the Slytherin table. He found a seat in between a quiet boy he recognized as Theodore Nott, and a talkative girl whose name he was unsure of. Draco sat diagonally from him.

"Hi, Harry," the girl said. "I'm Pansy Parkinson."

"Harry Potter," he replied. 

"I know," she laughed. "I think everyone knows."

After the everyone was sorted, introductions were made. The girl sitting next to Pansy was named Millicent Bulstrode, and the handsome boy sitting across from him was Blaise. There was also a Daphne Greengrass, Lily Moon, Tracey Davis, and Azra Lewis. Draco acknowledged Harry with a nod, and Crabbe and Goyle just grunted.

Harry looked up to see Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster, get up. He beamed at the students with his arms wide open.

"Welcome, welcome! It's a new year of Hogwarts. Before the banquet, however, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

He sat back down, and everyone clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not. He looked uncertainly back at his new friends, but was distracted at the sight of the food that had suddenly appeared.

Kreacher was a great cook, who supplied Regulus and Harry with more food than they needed, but that was nothing compared to the Hogwarts feast. Roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon, steak, boiled potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and for some weird reason, peppermint humbugs.

Harry piled a little bit of everything onto his plate and began to eat. He and Theo began to make light conversation, and Pansy chattered loudly to everyone in her vicinity.

By the time the plates had been cleared, Harry had stuffed himself full of food. To his great surprise, every kind of dessert that he could ever imagine appeared, and despite his better judgement, he piled his plate once again.

The talk turned to something a bit more controversial.

"Say, Azra," a second year a few seats down called out. "Lewis isn't a wizarding last name, is it? You a mudblood?"

Harry hissed slightly.

"No," Azra said quietly. "I'm a half-blood. My mum is a pureblood, but my dad's a muggle."

The second year scoffed and insulted her.

"Hey!" Lily snapped at him, at the same time Tracey glared at him furiously.

"Shut up!"

"Gonna stand up for this blood-traiting filth, are you?"

"Leave her alone," Harry said in a low voice.

At Harry's words, the second year stopped, but glared at both him and Azra.

"Is your dad really a muggle?" Pansy asked interestedly.

"Y-yeah," Azra looked nervous.

"That's kind of weird." Harry looked up at this, ready to defend Azra, but Pansy didn't seem to mean any harm. "He can't do magic, right? Then how does he get around?"

"Well, he walks," Azra shrugged, "and he takes his car to work."

"Cars?" Millicent interrupted.

"Don't tell me you don't know what they are," Daphne said. "They're everywhere these days!"

"I know what cars are!" Millicent defended herself. "I've just never met anyone who's been in one. You've been in one, right? What's it like?"

"Yeah, we have one. It's a Ford."

"Why isn't anyone asking _me_ about cars?" Tracey spoke up. "My family has one, too!"

"Really?"

Harry smiled. Despite what Regulus had told him about Slytherins and their blood purity nonsense, his friends didn't seem too bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slytherins aren't so bad after all...
> 
> even though a lot of the slytherins kind of grew up with blood-purity stuff, i'm thinking that if harry can intervene early, that won't be a problem.
> 
> hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

The Slytherin common room was weirdly cozy, once you got past the fact that it was in the dungeons.

The lights were dim, and the main source of illumination was the fireplace, which was huge, warm, and glowing. The sturdy stone walls were carved with intricate patterns, and were adorned by Slytherin colours and tapestries. The most interesting thing about the common rooms, however, were the huge windows that gave them a direct view of the Great Lake. Harry could see the underwater creatures, mostly merpeople, swimming about.

Harry and the other Slytherin boys were led to their dorms by a fifth year prefect by the name of Jace Prewett. He gave them a rundown of the rules: work hard, stick together, and be cunning. 

He then opened the dormitory doors to reveal the inside, which was just as interesting as the common room. It was spacious and rectangular with high ceilings. There were six four poster beds, and a large, rectangular table with six chairs in the middle. The windows were also present, albeit smaller.

Blaise whistled. "Better than I expected. Although my room at home is much better."

"Yeah, yeah," Theo said. "Get your rich arse out of here, Zabini. We know, your room is probably the size our entire dorm."

"Bigger, actually."

Harry laughed.

"Bit unsettling how the they can watch us sleep, isn't it?" Theo nodded towards the window, where a small group of merpeople were peering in. "And no curtains, either."

"I call the bed furthest from the window," Harry said immediately.

"Why?" Malfoy smirked. "Scared, Potter?"

"No, I'd just prefer my privacy."

"Same," Theo agreed. "I call the one opposite from yours, Harry."

Then, the rest of boys were scrambling for a bed of their choice. Draco ended up in the bed next to Harry's, and Crabbe and Goyle got the beds near the windows, much to their discomfort.

Jace stuck his head into their dorms, telling them to get ready for bed.

A while later, Harry lay in his four poster bed, staring up at the ceiling. It seemed miles away because of the dim light and his bad eyesight. The rest of the boys had already fallen asleep, and Harry's eyelids began to droop. It was earlier than his normal bedtime, but the feast had made him drowsy.

"Potter, are you awake?" a sharp voice cut through the silence.

Harry blinked hard a few times before replying, "Yeah."

He heard blankets shuffling next to him, and he wondered why Malfoy was talking to him.

"What is it?"

Silence.

"Malfoy?"

"I just wanted to, erm... I wanted to..."

Harry sighed. "Spit it out. It's late, and I don't want to wake up late on my first day of school."

"I'msorryforwhatIsaidonthetrain."

"What?"

"I said, I'm sorry for what I said on the train. You know, about some wizarding families being better than others?"

Harry's eyebrows jumped up in surprise. From what he had heard from Regulus, the Malfoys and other pureblood extremists didn't apologize about their beliefs.

"Harry?"

"Yeah, I heard you. So what caused the change of opinion?"

"I don't know," Draco admitted. "I guess after I heard you, Lily, and Tracey standing up for that Azra during the feast. I talked to Tracey a bit about it, and turns out she's a half-blood, too. I knew her before Hogwarts, but I didn't realize that she wasn't a pureblood. I guess it's not something you can tell outright, is it? So maybe it doesn't matter very much."

"Nope," Harry replied. "And I get it. My Uncle Regulus was raised to believe in the blood purity stuff, too."

"So you forgive me?"

"Well, I don't know. It's not me that you should be apologizing to, is it?"

"What?"

"Hermione. She's the one you said that bigoted stuff to. But if you apologize to her this week, I'm sure she'll forgive you. She's quite nice, you know."

"B-but, you want me to apologize to _Granger_?"

"You did it to me, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah," Draco muttered. "But I don't even know her."

"It's okay, I'll introduce you to her."

After a long stretch, Draco relented.

"Fine, but I expect you to be there."

"Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and thus, began the everlasting friendship...
> 
> hey!! hope you enjoyed!
> 
> i just wanted to let y'all know that i won't be updating for a bit. (maybe two weeks?) school started again for me, and i have a lot of catching up to do.


	6. Chapter 6

It was hard to ignore the whispers that were following him around everywhere. Harry grew more and more aggravated with every corner he turned, as he would hear whispers about him, his scar, his family, and Voldemort.

With much difficulty, Harry finally found his way up to the Great Hall and grumpily seated himself in between Theo and Lily.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning."

"Morning."

"I hope we get our schedules soon," Daphne said to everyone.

"We'll get it soon. Snape's right over there," Theo told her.

Harry looked up from his oatmeal to see a scowling, dark-haired professor handing out course schedules to the third years. As Harry received his, he noticed that Snape scowled at him for longer than necessary.

Brushing it off, Harry peeked at his schedule excitedly. His first class was herbology with the Ravenclaws. Pansy, from across the table, complained.

"It's Monday! And in the morning! We're going to freeze to death outside!"

Harry would have complained too, if the excitement hadn't overwhelmed his thought process.

Finding the classrooms were difficult due to the hundred and forty-two moving staircases, walking armors, and the caretaker Filch and Mrs. Noris. Everyone wanted to kick that bastard cat. But the real horror was Peeves, a poltergeist whose only job seemed to be making a lot of racket and pulling pranks. Harry couldn't possibly understand why Dumbledore would allow such a nuisance in the castle where hundreds of students were trying to get an education.

Theo had a great sense of direction, and Harry didn't find himself late to any of his classes as long as he stuck close to his friend. The only problem, was, however, that Theo was an early bird, and would often set off the the Great Hall by himself. Because of this, Harry would always get lost on his way to breakfast.

And then, there were the classes itself. Harry found them quite difficult. Regulus had always made it look so easy, but he soon found out that there was more to magic than just waving his wand and saying an incantation. Despite that, they were all very interesting, with the exception of History of Magic, which was easily the most boring class Harry had ever been in. He gave up on trying to stay awake by the third class. Defense Against the Dark Arts was a bit of a let down, and he could only hope that the class would get more interesting later in the year.

Friday marked a very special day. Harry finally made it to the Great Hall without making any wrong turns. He sat down in his usual seat and helped himself to some toast.

As usual, a stream of owls entered the hall, and Harry caught Hedwig in the midst. She was easy to spot, thanks to her pure white feathers. Much to Harry's surprise, she had something for him.

He supposed that it was from Regulus. He had only gotten one letter from his uncle yet. Much to his surprise, however, it was from someone named Hagrid.

Dear Harry,

Hi Harry. I'm Hagrid, the groundskeeper for Hogwarts. I don't suppose you know me, but I knew your parents well. They used to come by my cabin often, and I was hoping you'd do the same.

I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? Send us an owl back with Hedwig.

Hagrid

Harry had heard of Hagrid through Regulus. Hagrid was a nice man, although a bit eccentric. After showing the letter to Theo, he send a reply back, confirming that he would be there.

"It's almost time for potions," Lily said from next to him. "Are you guys excited?"

"I heard that Snape is a bit unfriendly," Azra said nervously.

"Only to the Gryffindors," Draco informed them. "I know him, he's pretty okay."

"Really? How do you know him?"

"Through my father," he replied, a bit pompously. "Father has lots of connections."

Harry and Theo rolled their eyes, but Azra seemed to be awed by Draco's words.

"Should we get going?" Harry said, noticing that Snape was not in his seat anymore.

"Yeah."

He and Theo were leaving the Great Hall when Hermione caught up to them.

"Hey, Harry, Theo!"

The trio had formed somewhat of a strange friendship over the past few days. Just like Draco, Theo had been raised with blood purity. And although he hadn't been brainwashed by these views, Theo had a very strange conception of what muggles and muggleborns were like. Little by little, Hermione was proving him wrong.

"Hey, Hermione," Harry grinned. "Ready for potions?"

"Of course," Hermione replied. "Potions is a fundamental base for magic. A potions O.W.L. is required for many career fields, not to mention that it will be extremely useful for every day life."

"Oh, uh, yeah, I agree. Right, Theo?"

"Definitely. Hey... is that Malfoy?"

Harry looked over his shoulder to see the blond boy walking quickly towards them.

"Hey, Malfoy," Harry said. "Are you here to do what we talked about?"

Theo and Hermione looked at each other in confusion.

Draco tilted his head and looked Hermione in the eye, hands folded delicately. He took a deep breath.

"Miss Granger, I would like to issue a formal apology."

"Wh-what?"

"I suppose you remember that I was quite discourteous to you on the Hogwarts Express. I am here now because I am aware that my actions were very tactless. I sincerely hope that you will forgive my fallacious words, and that we could become acquaintances."

Hermione looked over at Harry, bewildered, and beside her, Theo was stifling a laugh.

"I- I, yes, I forgive you," she stammered. "Erm, why the sudden change of heart?"

"Well," Draco placed a hand on his chest. "I recently just realized that my parent's belief does not have to be my own, and that my father is not always correct."

"R-right. Alright then, I'm glad you're thinking for yourself now. And we can be acquaintances?"

Draco stuck out a hand, and Hermione shaked it nervously.

"Why did you phrase your apology like that?" Harry laughed. "Was a 'Sorry for what I said, I was wrong,' not enough?"

"But that's how my mother taught me to apologize," Draco frowned.

"Formal apologies, maybe," Theo teased.

"That was a formal apology!"

"Yeah, but you normally don't issue a formal apology to fellow classmates," Harry pointed out. "But anyway, I'm glad you did it."

"Me, too."

The four of them walked in comfortable silence and stopped in front of the potions classroom. Taking a deep breath and giving each other encouraging nods, they entered the room.

It was quite like the rest of the dungeons, but considerably colder and darker. Snape wasn't there yet, but there were a few students scattered around. Hermione made a beeline for the front of the classroom, and Theo and Harry took a seat a few rows behind them. Draco sat a few tables away.

"Quite eery in here, isn't it?" Hermione asked them, turning around in her seat. "Are the rest of the dungeons like this?"

"Kind of, yeah," Harry said. "But Snape seems to have put in extra effort to make this place look, erm, well, creepy."

He looked pointedly at the jars of dead animals lining the shelves. They all snorted at that, but immediately stopped when the doors flung open, and Snape walked in.

Snape stood in front of the classroom, glowering at each student, one at a time.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he said. Everyone was quiet and alert. "There is little wand-waving here, and many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect that you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the human veins, bewitching the mind, and ensnaring the senses... I can teach how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death— if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Even more silence followed his carefully worded speech. Harry and Theo exchanged looks, and Hermione was on the edge of her seat, eager to prove herself as a competent student, Harry guessed.

"Potter!" Snape barked. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry didn't know the answer, but Hermione's hand shot up in the air. He glanced over at Theo, who was mouthing something to him. Harry couldn't lipread. He was stumped.

"I don't know, sir," he said.

Snape sneered at him and completely ignored Hermione's hand.

"A point from Slytherin. Let us try again. Where would you look if you found a bezoar?"

This one he knew. "You can get a bezoar from the stomach of a goat, sir, but you would be much better off purchasing it than collecting it yourself."

Snape narrowed his eyes and questioned Harry again. "What is the difference between monkswood and wolfsbane?"

Once again, Harry had an answer. Proudly, he said, "It's the same plant."

"Correct. Additionally, asphodel and wormwood make a powerful sleeping potion named the Draught of the Living Death. Why isn't anyone writing this down?"

Further on into the potions lesson, things did not get much better. Theo, who was quite academically inclined, was the only thing keeping the potion from becoming a frothing, disgusting mess. Too many times, Harry had almost added the wrong ingredient or stopped stirring prematurely. Snape swept around criticizing everyone, except Draco. He looked disdainfully at Hermione but did not say anything because her potion was perfect.

He was examining Harry and Theo's potion, when green smoke filled the air with a bang, and a loud hissing noise sounded from Neville and Seamus's station. Their cauldron had somehow melted, and the potion was seeping across the stone floor. Seamus was standing on a stool, and Neville tried to back away, but was not successful.

Neville moaned, drenched in the potion, as boils began to pop up on his face.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape. He cleared the potion with a flick of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Draco smirked, but quickly stopped when Harry glared at him dangerously.

Neville just whimpered in fear.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus.

As they climbed the stairs out of the dungeons an hour later and up to the Great Hall for lunch, Harry officially hated potions and the potions master.

"You're not the only one," Theo muttered.

"But you're good at potions," Harry said. "I'm rubbish at it."

"Nonsense! You're not rubbish at it, Harry," Hermione said. "Potions is easy as long as you follow the instructions carefully and practice. It's not a flip of the coin, you know."

Harry very much doubted that.

"Cheer up, mate. Can I come meet Hagrid with you?"

"Hagrid? Who's that?" Hermione asked.

"He's the groundskeeper, isn't he?" Draco asked, butting into their conversation. "The giant?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "He invited me over for tea. Do you two want to come, as well? I'm sure he wouldn't mind a few extra guests."

"I would love to."

"Erm, maybe another time," Draco said. "I have to, uh, I have to go to the owlery. You know, to send a letter to my mother?"

Harry shrugged. "Sure. Come on, Theo, Hermione."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have come back from the land of the dead to post a new chapter. hope you enjoyed :)
> 
> also jk rowling who? don't be ridiculous, the book wrote itself!


	7. Chapter 7

At five to three, Harry, Theo, and Hermione left the castle and made their way to the small wooden hut on the edge of the forbidden forest. When Harry knocked, he could hear frantic scrabbling and barks from the inside.

"Back, Fang! Back!" a loud, booming voice said.

A face appeared in the crack of the door. "Sorry. Hang on a mo'. Back, Fang."

He then let them in, struggling to keep hold of a big black boarhound.

Harry looked around. The inside of the hut was just one large room. Hams hung from the ceiling, and there was an open fire. In the corner, there was a giant bed covered with a patchwork quilt.

"Make yerselves at home," Hagrid said.

Hagrid was huge and he had an abundance of hair. But through it, Harry could see a pair of kind, crinkled eyes. As soon as Hagrid let go of Fang, he bounded over and started licking Theo, .

"This is Theo Nott and Hermione Granger," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into five individual cups.

Hagrid placed the cups on the table as well as a large plate of rock cakes. He narrowed his eyes at Theo, but looked away quickly.

"Hope yer not makin' too much trouble in Slytherin," Hagrid said to Harry.

"You know about that?"

"Everybody knows about tha'. The great Harry Potter in Slytherin? People're intrigued."

"There's nothing wrong with Slytherin," Theo said defensively.

"Ah, I suppose there isn't," Hagrid shrugged. "But stereotypes go a long way. Rock cake?"

The rock cakes were harder than actual rocks, and Harry pretended to enjoy them, and put them in his bag when Hagrid wasn't looking. Out of the corner of the eye, he saw Theo feeding his portion to Fang. Hermione was the only one attempting to eat the lumps.

Harry told Hagrid about his first week, with Theo butting in occasionally to mention some embarrassing mistakes Harry had made in their classes.

"I had potions today, it was terrible. Snape hates me."

"Don' worry 'bout it. He hates nearly everyone."

"But he seemed to really hate me."

"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?"

Harry noticed that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.

"So yer a muggleborn, eh?" Hagrid asked Hermione, changing the subject. "How are yeh finding your classes? Difficult? Easy?"

"Hermione's the smartest witch in our year," Harry said.

Hagrid nodded thoughtfully. "Yer mum was a muggleborn, too, Harry. She was also the brightest witch in her year."

Harry felt something in his stomach, and looked around the room to find something else to talk about. He picked up a cut out of the Daily Prophet that was lying under the tea cozy.

"There was a break-in in Gringotts?" Theo read over his shoulder. "How?"

"Gringotts? As in the heavily guarded wizarding bank?"

"Yeah."

"This happened on my birthday!" Harry exclaimed as he noticed the date. "Wait — I was at Diagon Alley on my birthday. It might have happened while I was there!"

Hagrid looked uncomfortable.

"Wait. Now that I mention it... You were there too! I saw you chatting with Uncle Regulus outside of Madam Malkin's!"

Hagrid grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry took it, and read the rest of the article. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier on the same day. What was so important that someone had risked their life to break into Gringotts for it?

"Hagrid," Harry said slowly. "Why do you have this cut out?"

"You know something, don't you?" Hermione asked. "Do you know who broke into the vault?"

"Did you break into the vault?" Theo accused. "Why were you at Diagon Alley?"

It was clear on his face that Hagrid was offended by this statement.

"Me? Break into a bloody Gringotts vault? I've never heard a more ridiculous statement in me life!"

"Theo, Hagrid wouldn't!" Hermione said.

"Right. Of course not, what was I thinking? Sorry, Hagrid."

"But you do know something about this?" Harry pressed. "Why were you there that day?"

"Well, if yeh have ter know, I was there doing a favor for Dumbledore. And I don't know nothin' about the break in."

Harry studied Hagrid's face carefully.

"Okay..."

As he sipped his tea, Harry couldn't shake off the feeling that Hagrid was lying about what he knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long hiatus. next chapter will go up next week as scheduled.


	8. Chapter 8

"Are you any good at flying?" Theo asked Harry as they made their way down to the Great Hall.

They had promised to meet up with Hermione and walk to the quidditch pitch together.

"Yeah," Harry said truthfully. "Regulus says that I'm the best Quidditch player he's every seen. We can't exactly fly unnoticed at Grimmauld Place, but Regulus takes me to a public Quidditch stadium sometimes."

"How often?"

"I dunno, like maybe once a month?"

Theo groaned, "Great, just great. I'm going to make a fool out of myself in front of everyone. I practice nearly every day at home and I'm still bad at it. Meanwhile, you practice once a month and you're the best Quidditch player Regulus has ever seen."

"Well, it's in my blood," Harry shrugged. "My dad was the best chaser on the Gryffindor team. And my mum wasn't half bad."

Theo just sighed.

"Hey, Harry," Hermione greeted. "Why do you look so down, Theo? Is something wrong?"

"He's just worried about Quidditch lessons," Harry told her. "How are you feeling?"

"Quite nervous, actually," Hermione said. "I've never flew before, and it's not really something that you can learn out of a book, is it?"

"Don't worry too much." Harry patted her on the back comfortingly. "I'll help you. And besides, you're smart. You could probably figure it out fast enough."

The trio slowly approached the grassy Quidditch field. Almost everybody was already there. Like Theo and Hermione, many of them seemed jittery and nervous.

Harry flashed a comforting smile at Neville, who was showing his Remembrall to his Gryffindor friends, probably to distract himself. He had never even been on a broom before; his Gran hadn't allowed it. Harry could see why she was so worried. Neville was clumsy, and being ten feet in the air wasn't very safe.

Harry furrowed his brows when Draco snatched it from Neville. He was about to tell the blond boy off, but Madam Hooch arrived. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Draco shoving the red ball back into Neville's hands.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Madam Hooch barked. "Everyone stand by a broom. Come on, hurry up!"

Harry frowned down at his broomstick. It looked very old, and the twigs were all sticking out in odd angles. It was nothing like the Comet 260s he had at home. He couldn't even tell if the broom was from a reputable company, or if it would fly properly.

"Stick your right hand over your broom and say 'up!'"

"Up!" everyone shouted.

Not surprisingly, Harry's broom jumped into his hands at once. He looked around to see that not many had achieved the feat. Hermione's had quivered then rolled over. Theo's floated about a yard into the air before falling. Neville's hadn't moved at all. He glanced over at Draco, who had, after a struggle, managed to grasp the broom in his outstretched hand.

Madam Hooch then showed everyone how to mount their brooms and grip the handle correctly.

Harry just raised an eyebrow when Madam Hooch told Draco he'd been doing it wrong for years. For someone who talked so much about Quidditch, he wasn't terribly good at it, albeit better than most others in the class.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle—three, two—"

Harry's eyes widened as Neville shot into the air even before Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but it was no use.

Neville was rising up and up faster than a rocket. He went ten feet, twenty feet, even thirty feet. Harry caught a glimpse of his scared, pale face, and then he was falling.

Before anyone could do anything, Neville landed with a bam. He was facedown on the grass, whimpering. Madam Hooch bent over Neville, her face as white as his.

"Broken wrist," she muttered. "Come on, boy—it's alright, up you get."

She turned to look at the rest of the class.

"The rest of you are to leave your brooms exactly where you are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can 'Quidditch'. Come on, dear."

As soon as Madam Hooch left, Draco let out a snicker. Harry sighed.

"Draco, stop it."

Draco looked like he wanted to argue, but Harry gave him a stern look.

"What are you, Potter's lap dog?" one of the Gryffindors jeered.

"Shut up, Finnegan," Draco growled.

The dark-haired boy just snorted. "Hey, look, it's Neville's Remembrall!" He darted forward and picked it up. Then, he started tossing it in the air carelessly.

"Give it here, Finnegan," Harry said.

"Why?" the boy said. "I'm not doing anything."

"You're handling Neville's property when he did not give you permission to do so. Give it back."

Finnegan smiled leeringly.

"If you want it so much, why don't you come get it?" he called out, hopping onto a broom and taking off.

Blood boiling, Harry grabbed his broomstick.

"No!" Hermione cried. "Stop it, Harry! Madam Hooch told us not to touch our brooms! You'll get in trouble!"

Harry ignored her and pushed off of the ground. Air rushed through his hair and his robes whipped behind him. A rush of adrenaline flooded throughout his body. He took a sharp swerve and faced Finnegan. There was an admiring whoop from the ground, from Theo, probably.

"Give it here, or I'll knock you off your broom! Nobody's here to save you, not even Madam Hooch."

"Oh, yeah?" Finnegan tried to sneer, but Harry could tell he was worried.

Harry narrowed his eyes and shot towards the sneering boy. Finnegan only got out of the way in time.

"If you want it so much, catch it yourself!"

Harry saw the ball as if it were moving in slow motion. It rose up into the air, maybe three feet or so, then quickly plummeted to the earth. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down, and chased after the shimmering ball. He stretched out his hand— wind whistled in his ears and he heard people screaming joyously—and caught it. He landed gracefully, and grinned.

"Harry Potter!"

Harry's heart dropped and his smile disappeared. He recognized that drawling voice. He turned slowly to face a sneering professor.

"Professor, I—"

"Save it, Potter. Follow me."

He spun around dramatically, his cloak flapping near his ankles.

"It's not his fault, Professor!" Hermione cried out, indignant.

She was ignored.

"Sir, if I may?" Draco interjected.

Snape stopped, then turned back around slowly. He nodded slightly, gesturing for the blond to continue.

"Potter here was actually trying to help. Finnigan was the one that started it, really. Longbottom dropped his remembrall, and Finnigan refused to give it up. He flew away first, and Harry only chased after him to get the remembrall back."

Snape paused, surveying the field, then shooting Harry a murderous glare. Harry winced.

"Follow me, Potter. Oh, and twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Finnigan."

Shooting Theo and Draco a helpless look Harry took off after Snape. Harry wondered if he was being taken to the headmaster's office to get expelled. To his surprise, however, he stopped outside of a classroom. He opened the large wooden doors and stepped in.

Harry was left outside to wait miserably. He had no idea why Snape had gone into a classroom, but Harry just hoped that he wouldn't get expelled. Regulus would be so disappointed in him.  
"  
Snape came back out with another student. He was tall, large, and burly, and had dark hair. He was also very intimidating. They followed Snape down to his office, both looking at each other curiously.

Once inside the confines of the dungeon, Snape stood still, glancing at one boy from the next. Finally, he spoke up.

"Flint, this is Harry Potter. I've found you a new seeker."

 _What?_ What did he mean by "seeker?" He couldn't mean Quidditch, could he?

Suspiciously, Flint surveyed Harry. "What'd'you mean?"

"A seeker, Mr. Flint," Snape drawled. "A position in the wizarding game Quidditch, whose objective is to catch the snitch and end the game. Does any of this sound familiar to you?"

"But he's a first year!"

"And better at flying than any of those idiots that tried out. Mr. Potter, what you did today was against the coach's direct orders. Two weeks of detention. You may go."

Mouth gaping, Harry left the classroom. He felt a bit light-headed.

"We're going to have a private training session before we introduce you to the team," Marcus told him. "Tomorrow, five o' clock. Try not to spread this around, will you?"

Later on in the evening, Harry told Theo and Hermione what had happened.

"You're _joking_ ," Theo said, a forkful of string beans halfway to his face. "You must be the youngest seeker in about a century!"

"I know," Harry said. "Just don't tell anyone, okay? You're not supposed to know."

Hermione frowned at him, leaning in her seat and towards the Slytherin table so they could hear her. "I don't think rewarding you for your actions was what Snape should have done."

"What?" Harry cried. "Hermione! You know I didn't do anything wrong. It was all Finnigan. Besides, I'm getting two weeks of detention."

Hermione just sighed and went back to her book. "I guess that's slightly better."

Harry rolled his eyes at Theo when Finnigan showed up, Thomas and Weasley trailing behind him.

"Having your last meal, Potter?" Finnigan sneered. "What'd Snape do to you? Expulsion?"

"No, actually, but I don't see how it's any of your business," Harry replied pleasantly.

"Lying doesn't look good on you, Potter. Someone should beat some manners into you."

"I'm being perfectly civil. But if you'd like, I challenge you to a wizard's duel. Tonight, wands only, no contact."

Without looking back, Harry left the Great Hall, his head up in the air. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Theo and Hermione scrambling after him, probably to stop him from going. He smiled.


End file.
